As I have mentioned before, this year was my first year growing vegetables and I am learning new strategies along the way. I have had more success with some vegetables than with others, but I am still surprised with the amount that my gardens have produced. Early this summer, I was worried that my tomato plants were not going to make it through the early summer months. Luckily, I had several crops that rebounded and have started producing an abundance of tomatoes. I love tomatoes and want to utilize every last cherry tomato if possible. Nothing is more frustrating than harvesting vegetables from your own garden and having them spoil because you waited too long to use them. If you have an abundance of tomatoes...

After my last post on organic vegetable gardening, I had some questions from readers about when to buy organic. Choosing whether or not to buy organic fruits and vegetables can be overwhelming. Purchasing organic produce is often more expensive, but there are certain fruits and vegetables that are not worth the extra cost. The question is, how do you know which foods to buy organic? You're in luck! Today I am going to give you a list of fruits and vegetables that are known to be significantly higher in pesticides that are worth the organic price tag and a list of foods are not worth buying organic.
16 Foods to Buy Organic:
Strawberries
Apples
Nectarines
Peaches
Celery
Grapes
Cherries
Spinach
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Leafy...

I apologize for my time away and lack of posts over the last two weeks. My husband Andrew and I have been very busy with two things: preparing for our puppy and working in the garden. Here is a sneak peak of our golden retriever puppy:
We pick him up on Saturday and have been busy getting everything ready for his arrival. The second thing that has been keeping me busy is the garden. Over the last few months, we have put in a patio, two raised vegetable beds, and about 48 sq feet of regular garden beds. Last week, we finished everything off with window boxes. Needless to say, we have been very busy.
After spending this morning walking around my vegetable gardens and seeing how...

This week we have been focusing on folate as the nutrient of the week. In the last post you learned how much folate you need and where you can find it. As I have mentioned before, I am a big believer in meeting your nutrient needs through diet. This recipe helps you focus on folate and meet your daily needs and uses fresh seasonal vegetables!
This is a great seasonal pasta recipe. My husband loves Fettuccini Alfredo, but I don't like to make it because it is high calorie, and high in fat. This is a great substitute for a white cream sauce and uses seasonal vegetables! We already have fresh asparagus in Maine and soon we will have fresh peas from the garden. This is a...

This week, we have been focusing on folate (vitamin B9) and the important role it plays in ADHD. Today we will continue to focus on folate and learn more about the sources of folate. Vitamin B9 is needed to synthesize amino acids that are the building blocks for DNA, and neurotransmitters. Individuals with ADHD have lower levels of dopamine to begin with, which is why it is critical to increase the production of these neurotransmitters as much as possible.
The amount of folate that you need depends on your age and your gender. Women who are at a child bearing age or are trying to become pregnant should increase their folate intake. In addition, women who are lactating also have increased folate needs. Here is the breakdown:
Infants...

Happy Monday everyone! I apologize for my brief hiatus. I started a per diem dietitian job at a hospital and have been training, so I haven't had much time to write. This is the post from a week and a half ago. I just wanted to refresh your memory on the importance of folate before I share with you the best sources of vitamin B9 and some new recipes.
Over the past two weeks, we have discussed some important updates on some of the key nutrients that help improve ADHD symptoms, including, omega-3 fatty acids and probiotics. This week we will turn our attention to a new nutrient and the role it plays in ADHD. Folate is a water soluble B vitamin that plays an important role...

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend and hopefully the weather is as nice where you are as it is here. It is finally starting to feel like spring and as summer get closer, you may be thinking about putting your slow cooker away for the summer. Resist the urge! Slow cooker and crockpot recipes are not seasonal. This Sesame Ginger Chicken is a great source of protein and is rich in zinc and magnesium.
[mpprecipe-recipe:7]
I hope you enjoy this slow cooker Sunday recipe. I would love to hear from you. What is your favorite slow cooker recipe? Leave a comment and share.
Be sure to check back on Monday for an all new Nutrient to Focus On. Thanks for reading!
Until Next Time,
The Distracted Dietitian...

Today I want to share with you one last item I learned about at the seminar I attended by Dr. Michael Lara called "A Pharmacy in Your Kitchen". One topic he spent a significant time discussing was cognition, which plays a major role in ADHD symptoms. The main focus of the cognition discussion was Alzheimers, but a lot of this information can be applied to ADHD. Improved cognition is something everyone can benefit from.
As you may recall from my previous posts from this seminar, Dr. Lara's presentation focused on medical foods and specific nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids and probiotics. Another nutrient he focused on was medium chain triglycerides, also known as MCTs. Medium chain triglycerides are saturated fatty acids that contain 6-12 carbon atoms. MCTs...

If you have been reading this blog for a couple weeks, you may recall that we focused on probiotics as a key nutrient to include in your diet to help ADHD symptoms. Probiotics are the good bacteria that our microbiomes need. Individuals with ADHD are more susceptible to overgrowth for various reasons, which is why including probiotics in your diet is key. Probiotics were one of the topics discussed at the seminar I attended last week. The following video was shown at the seminar because Dr. Mara felt it was the best explanation of the human microbiome that he had come across. Here is the human microbiome explained through an animated video.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DTrENdWvvM&app=desktop[/embed]
Obviously, there is still a lot to learn and understand about the human microbiome...

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar presented by the Institute for Brain Potential (IBP). The topic was, “The Pharmacy in Your Kitchen: An Overview of Medical and Medicinal Foods” by Dr. David Lara. I attended this seminar because one of the objectives was ways to improve attention and cognition. I was slightly disappointed in the amount of time spent on attention, but I learned new information about topics that I thought I understood. One of those topics was the anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fatty acids. As we have discussed, omega-3 fatty acids can reduce ADHD symptoms. Here is some of the new information I learned about omega-3 fatty acids that I think is beneficial to individuals with ADHD and individuals who...